9 minute read
City Voices
CITY VOICES CITY VOICES
LANDGREN STATE TROOPERS QUITTING OVER VACCINE MANDATE MAY HAVE CAREER PATH AHEAD OF THEM
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FIRST PERSON
The view from a Worcester backyard
Joe Fusco Jr.
Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
We bought a DynaTrap online because our friends swore it eliminated mosquitoes from their backyard that is five times larger than our urban lot.
We plugged it in early June and so far it has detained then executed approximately 7,112 moths, but the mosquitoes just hover around the device, mock the imprisoned moths, then bite us.
There are also rabbits in our backyard. They have burrowed under the slide of the old swing set and lounge on the lawn eating clover.
When I attempt to cut the grass, they stare me down like I’m Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction.” They don’t move until the mower’s a cottontail away from maiming them.
Our neighbors behind our backyard play Spanish music LOUDLY when they wash their cars.
I’ll be in our 5,000 gallon above-ground pool in my purple speedo chillin’ to The Indigo Girls when their bass-beat sends shock waves across the placid waters.
I usually just poke my head above the fence between our properties and motion for them to turn down the volume … always to no avail.
Yesterday, I took out the old Boombox from storage, placed it behind the garage, and blasted Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” until they abandoned their cars and retreated inside. He does write the songs!
There’s also a cast-iron fire-
WORCESTERIA
A mural by Kristian Rodriguez on Harlow Street in Worcester. VICTOR D. INFANTE/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
Artist Kristian Rodriguez creates new street mural for Harlow Street neighborhood
Victor D. Infante
Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
One of the best things about living in Worcester is that every now and again, you turn a corner on a street you drive almost daily, and suddenly there’s something beautifully, vibrantly new. That was me last week, turning from Paine Street onto Harlow, and encountering the beautiful underwater seascape mural created by multidisciplinary artist Kristian Rodriguez, who also works under the name Nu Element, with the help of some neighborhood kids.
The street mural – located next to St. Bernard’s Church –was created at a block party Saturday, and features cartoony fish and a mermaid, all done in bright, rich colors. It’s extremely striking, and charming.
Rodriguez says he was encouraged to apply to do the mural by his old high school teacher, Liz Liedel. “She’s awesome,” he says, in a brief exchange. “She always believed in my art.” Rodriguez says he was a longshot to be chosen to do the mural, but was overjoyed to have been chosen, “especially to see the outcome.” He says the neighborhood had
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Troopers need to face consequences
Paul Gallo
Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Last year, eight Mass. State troopers admitted to each stealing $40,000 or more by falsely reporting work hours. They have not been prosecuted. They have not forfeited their pensions as required by the regulations. Instead, they were allowed to “retire” and paid large buyout sums to do so. Their only consequence has been to pay back what they stole. These troopers who swore an oath to serve and protect, grossly abused the trust placed in them. Obviously, these troopers had no respect for their badge.
They are not the only ones who have failed us. So has the Governor, the Mass Attorney General, the US Attorney, the Judicial System for allowing this travesty to inexplicably escape justice. Any ordinary citizen committing similar offenses would be punished as called for by our laws. We are taught that justice is blind, and equally applied to all citizens. Nobody is above the law. Right?
There is no justification, no mitigating circumstances, no reason whatsoever for excusing these crimes. It is not too late to properly and equitably bring these criminals to justice. Doing so will surely help prove that there is equal justice for all, and show respect for the badge. It’s time for our Government Leaders who tout commitment to our democratic principles, to actually show it by their actions.
Paul Gallo lives in Barre.
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POETRY TOWN ‘Indian Hill Elementary School’
Tony Fulginiti
Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Mrs. Albee, shoeless, Sleeps and snores behind the desk. Whispers of laughter from the rows.
What are we supposed to do?
We look at paintings and photos of dead Presidents. They gaze down at Mrs. Albee A descendant of wise instruction Who dreams of Indian Wars White men’s blood on ice ponds
She shifts weight in the ribbed, wooden chair And groans under war cries Of a once, peaceful village. Tilting back her head she Offers a pale throat for the knife and bloody surrender.
She sees through the dim gauze Of smoke and snow Children in a circle before execution. They laugh and snicker Which angers her. She snores louder And gasps for breath Wonders why President Ulysses Grant Silent on the wall Does not stop the slaughter to come.
Tony Fulginiti is a resident of Charlton. He has been workshopping with other writers since 1993 at the Worcester Art Museum.
Artist
Continued from Page 10D
come up with a few different themes for the mural, so “I had to mash them all together into one cohesive piece.” It took two months to design the mural, but a DPW issue forced him to have to redesign the piece in just two days.
The mural, “stands for unity and believing in your dreams,” says Rodriguez. “I used to be the kid who drew in class and always got told to pay attention. Just be yourself.” Rodriguez came up with the design and sketched the outline, but neighborhood kids assisted him with the actual painting.
“It was touching to see all the kids come together,” he says, “because they’re the future and I hoped to inspire them along with the community … I have a daughter, too, so ultimately it’s to inspire her and show her what I was up to back in my day.” He says, “I purposely made the mermaid dark-skinned so little girls could relate.”
As it is, it’s an extremely endearing piece of work, one Rodriguez expects to stick around, at least as long as the Black Lives Matter mural on Major Taylor Blvd., despite exposure to weather and especially tire marks.
“It’s there strong,” he says.
Required reading
Community activist Em Quiles has an extremely compelling longform essay about mental health and self-care up on the Worcester Beacon website. It’s pretty much a must-read for anyone who has dealt with mental health issues, or has loved ones who have. Which, honestly, is pretty much everybody, whether you realize it or not. Depression and anxiety – which I’ve struggled with myself – can be immensely difficult to navigate, especially when you’re in the middle of it, so Quiles’ essay makes for important and compelling reading.
“The truth is,” writes Quiles, “I have battled depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember. It is one of those things that I can’t imagine how it would feel NOT to have. Like hemorrhoids, it shrinks and enlarges whenever the hell it feels like it. Aggravated by quite literally anything – seasons changing, life challenges, planets aligning inconveniently – it is something that I have to regularly re-learn how to live with. Managing my mental health can be incredibly difficult in and of itself. Still, it is even more challenging when you come from a cultural background that has conditioned you to perceive mental health issues as that beggar in front of the corner store – everyone sees him, but everyone pretends he doesn’t exist, thus leaving you with little to no resources to help you manage.”
Our backyard belongs to the mosquitoes. SC DHEC
Backyard
Continued from Page 10D
pit in our backyard that we inherited 30 years ago with the house.
It stayed untouched for years until one of my sons-inlaw decided to make s’mores for our 19 grandchildren at a family barbeque.
All the kids seemed to enjoy the charred marshmallows with the heavy smoke filling up their young lungs and smelling up their clothing.
I’m not a fan of firepits ever since I read that my great-great grandmother Filomena Fusco was burnt at the stake in Fall River for supposedly inventing witch hazel. But … that story is for another day.
I’m just resigned to the reality that our backyard is totally out of our control. It belongs to the mosquitoes, rabbits, neighbors’ music and an antiquated tinderbox.
We just park in the driveway.
Joe Fusco Jr. is a poet and humorist living in Worcester. His most recent book of poems, stories and essays is “Pondering the Pandemic During The Rest Years.”
